Donald Trump: I'm Not Running For President of the United States

Donald Trump: Hail to Someone Else -- I'm Not Running

5/16/2011 10:00 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF

Donald Trump says if he ran for President of the United States he'd win, but he still decided against doing it.

Trump says, "I maintain the strong conviction that if I were to run I would be able to win the primary and ultimately the general election." But, Trump concludes, "Ultimately business is my greatest passion and I am not ready to leave the private sector."

Trump, always shy, says, it was a hard decision, "especially when my potential candidacy continues to be validated by ranking at the top of the Republican contenders in polls across the country."

And in a shocker, Trump didn't wait until the finale of "Celebrity Apprentice" -- he pulled out a week before he crowns the winner. Timing, Donald.